2.
2Retail Success Still Depends on Core Principles“Increasingly, where one shops will be irrelevant,” USA Today wrote last summer in one of thosetypical death-of-the-physical-store features full of anticipation about how augmented reality,phone- based payment systems, and 3-D printers will change the very fabric of life.1And some-times it does seem that change is coming so fast that it is shaking the very foundations of tradi-tional institutions. Just as managers gain familiarity with basic point-of-sale (POS) data, dozensof new sources for data—and uses for it—proliferate. Just as online shopping channels finallybecome accepted, mobile channels materialize to take some of their traffic. Just as one form ofnew in-store technology (such as handheld scanners for inventory management) gains accep-tance, another dozen tools (from tablets to digital price displays) clamor for deployment. Giventhis pace of change, it’s tempting to believe that the future of retail really is somewhere else.Certainly as we developed A.T. Kearney’s 2013 Achieving Excellence in Retail Operations (AERO)study, we were aware the huge changes that had occurred just since our previous study, in 2010(see sidebar: About the Study on page 3). Three years ago, we did not ask retailers anythingabout social networking. We covered far fewer options for deploying technologies to customers—and for getting information back from them. And although we asked about multiple channels,the notion of integrated channel retailing was at best a distant mirage.Despite the changes, the 2013 AERO studydemonstrates the importance of manytraditional core principles of retailing.But look what happened with our results in 2013: Despite the changes, the AERO study demon-strates the importance of many traditional core principles of retailing. It confirms that runninga successful retail operation is all about people: employees, customers, and the interactionsbetween them. One of the biggest secrets to success is the simple notion of engagement:listening to your staff and your customers. Another is cutting back on administrative burdens toget managers out in the field. And although the new wealth of technologies and available datais a great boon, often the most productive uses of it are in addressing familiar challenges suchas managing shrink and out-of-stocks.Sure, it is both fun and important to look at new technologies and the insights you can gainfrom them. Yes, there is some value in the gee-whiz imaginings of a Jetsons-like retail future.But when you dig deep into what actually generates profits for today’s most successful retailcompanies, it turns out that they’re simply good at what great retailers have always been goodat: the nuts and bolts of operations. They identify the right metrics, analyze them appropriately,and act intelligently. They support field leadership with tools and processes to improve theirdecision making. They rely on, and seek insights from, front-line staff. And they view technologyas neither a threat nor a toy, but as a tool that better enables them to achieve ancient ambitionssuch as customer insight, operations efficiency, and customer service.In a sense, then, the more things change, the more they stay the same. In an information-soakedenvironment, amid the emergence of multiple retail channels, it’s important to understand howto take advantage of the changes. But it’s equally important to keep a hand on the pulse of core1 Jon Swartz, “Why shopping will never be the same,” USA Today, 8 August 2012

3.
3Retail Success Still Depends on Core PrinciplesAbout the StudyA.T. Kearney’s AchievingExcellence in Retail Operations(AERO) study provides insightsinto how retailers around theglobe can improve their opera-tions. With more than 100questions, the survey probes thestrategy, tactics, and executionof retailers in more than 20countries. It covers multiplesectors, including apparel,health and personal care,mass-market and hypermarket,electronics, food and grocery,and cash and carry.The study is based onA.T. Kearney’s Store OperationsFramework (see figure). Thisframework, which was also usedto pioneer the 2010 study, breaksoperations into categories thatset strategic direction, delivercore value, optimize expenses,and drive lasting change.Many retailers find great value inthe study. The results providethem with insights into bestpractices for improving opera-tions; the customized benchmarkreport shows how their perfor-mance compares to sectorleaders (although of course allcompany-specific data remainsconfidential). Many also appre-ciate the reflective process ofparticipating in the study. Theysay that filling out the secureonline survey, which takes threeto four hours, helps identifyareas and processes that mayneed further attention, andmetrics to consider in the future.For companies with more thanone banner, AERO can serve tohelp compare methods andresults to enhance best practicesacross banners. For example, itcan point out where consistencymight be valuable in allocatingmanagers’ time or in managingindirect costs.The study is ongoing, and thereis still an opportunity to partic-ipate in further research.For more information, pleasecontact:Joel Aldenjoel.alden@atkearney.comAdam Pressmanadam.pressman@atkearney.comSource: A.T. Kearney analysisFigureA.T. Kearney’s Store Operations Framework forms the basis for the AERO studyChannel strategyVoiceof the customerStore business planningStore operationsReal estatelife cycle managementOperatingexpense controlStoretechnologyMerchandising andsupply chain interfaces Field leadershipDrive store valueEnhance store valueChange managementand communicationsDeliver core store value

4.
4Retail Success Still Depends on Core Principlesprinciples: people, customers, and physical store layouts. This report examines the insightsfrom our 2013 AERO Study to show how retailers are turning great operations into profits.Measure, Analyze, and ActEverybody aspires to use information more effectively. With the increased availability of all sortsof data on all sorts of issues, people want to be smart about taking advantage of it. But somestruggle to turn that desire into execution. Such is the case in retail. The AERO study shows thatretail leaders are much better than followers at collecting data, measuring activities, acting ontheir insights, and measuring again to see the results. In short, they have mastered a principlewe call Measure, Analyze, and Act.Voice of the customerRetail leaders effectively apply this principle in the crucial area of the voice of the customer.Although most retailers do a solid job of examining point-of-sale (POS) data, few use other datasources, such as traffic-flow analyses or customer intercepts, to access customer opinions(see figure 1).In particular, we found that few retailers value social-network data. Fewer than half even botherto collect it from third-party domains, and just 8 percent say it is very important in generatinginsights. Likewise, retailers don’t take full advantage of direct customer contact data throughcall centers or store employees. More than half still do not regularly mine their loyalty programdata—30 percent say they only look at the data once a year—especially ironic since most loyaltyProduct reviewStore employeeContact centerOnlineExternalLoyaltySurveyIn-storePOSSource: A.T. Kearney’s 2013 Assessment of Excellence in Retail Operations (AERO) studyFigure 1Many sources of customer data exist, but not all are usedRare(fewer than 25% of respondents)Common(more than 75% of respondents)Number of transactionsper daySpending per transactionCustomer trafficCustomer surveys Focus groups Intercept interviewsVendor-led consumer researchLoyalty program dataIndustry research Association researchSocial networks (company) Social networks (third party)Contact center dataStore employee-generated consumer insightProduct reviewsConversion rate Traffic flow analysisCustomer timein storeUnits per transaction

5.
5Retail Success Still Depends on Core Principlesprograms are designed to reward customers for the right to track their data. Respondents citedworkforce capabilities and technology as the main barriers to tracking this loyalty data—a themewe’ll pick up in “Enable with Technology” below.In a sense, the study provides two lessons here. First, at the granular level, there are manyunderutilized sources of customer data, and retailers may need to invest more in the technologyand skills to take advantage of them more effectively. Second, in the bigger picture, the moresuccessful retailers are not only using more data, but they focus on the principle of Measure,Analyze, and Act. Their leaders encourage measuring the right data, invest in the skills to gaininsights from that data, and use those insights effectively to frame future actions.Store and channel managementLeading retailers excel at managing their stores and channels with strong operational andemployee metrics. As customers use multiple channels and bricks-and-mortar store revenuesdecline, most retailers have correctly identified that they must move beyond multi-channelretailing and begin integrating those channels. But our study finds that few retailers haveachieved real integration. Many services that a genuinely integrated multi-channel retailerwould offer, such as the ability to buy a product online and pick it up in-store, or visibility intoinventories from other channels, are offered by less than half of the retailers in our study.A big problem is that although we live in a cross-channel world, few retailers have access tocross-channel metrics (see figure 2). With the voice of the customer, the big issue is analyzingand acting on a wealth of data; in store and channel management, the key is having the rightdata in the first place.For example, consider employee incentives. Many managers have studied the same metrics,such as revenue or gross margin generated at POS, for 20 years. But an integrated channelenvironment requires new employee behaviors not reflected in these metrics, such as supportinga customer in ordering an out-of-stock item through a different channel. When employees arerarely measured on the success of non-store channels, they have little incentive to encouragetheir growth. Encouraging new employee behaviors requires new incentives, based on newmetrics. In short, as strategies change, metrics must change with them. Again, the focus needsto be on Measure, Analyze, and Act—all three effectively.Source: A.T. Kearney’s 2013 Assessment of Excellence in Retail Operations (AERO) studyFigure 2Performance metrics do not support multi-channel resultsDo your field managers have access to multichannel results in these categories?(% of respondents)Sales21%13%11%5% 5%SalesgrowthReturnsrateDemandfill rateInventoryreturns

6.
6Retail Success Still Depends on Core PrinciplesOut-of-stock performanceLeading retailers use the Measure, Analyze, and Act principle to improve operational perfor-mance, for example reducing the percentage of out-of-stocks. Respondents who set in-stockgoals at the stock-keeping unit (SKU) level, rather than by store, category, or subcategory,perform 47 percent better on this key operational issue (see figure 3). Why? Because they knowwhen an important SKU is out of stock. When you aggregate out-of-stocks to the store level, youmay not know that that you’re missing a particularly high-volume or high-margin SKU, so youroverall out-of-stock performance will seem better than it really is. By measuring in greater detail,leaders are better able to identify and address problems.The sources of data are proliferating in our fast-changing retail environment. But as always,what matters is not so much using lots of data, but rather using the right data. When you putenergy into defining what you’re measuring, you get a truer picture of your performance, andresults improve.Shrink managementAnother key operational issue, managing inventory shrinkage, can also be powered byanalytics. Again, you get what you measure. The one-third of retailers that don’t have shrinkas a key measurement cannot analyze it or act on it, which means they won’t be very effectiveat managing the issue.Figure 4 on page 7 highlights leading practices for managing shrink. Establishing shrinktargets by category is especially valuable because some categories are particularly largecontributors to shrink. Again, knowing how and where to Measure, Analyze, and Act cangreatly improve efficiency.Note: SKU is stock keeping unit.Source: A.T. Kearney’s 2013 Assessment of Excellence in Retail Operations (AERO) studyFigure 3Defining in-stock goals at the SKU level can improve performance by almost 50 percentLevel at which in-stock goals aregoals are defined(% of respondents)Out-of-stock performance(%)4.0%7.5%Store, category,or subcategorySKU–47%7.3% averageSKU32%Store, category,or subcategory68%

7.
7Retail Success Still Depends on Core PrinciplesPeak season managementMeasure, Analyze, and Act also applies to managing stores during peak seasons. Analytic toolscan effectively predict peaks, giving you the power to act aggressively to increase staffing andotherwise maximize peak volumes (see figure 5). Leading retailers not only make largerincreases in labor hours during peaks, which lead to larger revenues during peaks, but they alsoramp down more quickly. Managing peaks is not only about getting more revenue out of thepeak, but also about not wasting those revenues on inefficient post-peak operations. Leadershave used measurements and analysis to know with confidence when the peak is over, and theyact accordingly.Source: A.T. Kearney’s 2013 Assessment of Excellence in Retail Operations (AERO) studyFigure 4Few firms set shrink targets by categoryWhich practices do you employ to reduce shrink?(% of respondents indicating “extensive” or “somewhat”)Have a well-documentedstrategy85% 81%65% 65%58%Leading practices54%38%Have a formalprocessin placeEmploytechnologyUse shrinkas a keyperformancemetricEstablishshrink targetsby storeEstablishshrink targetsby categoryUse financialincentivesAverage number ofweeks in advanceto begin hiringNumber of weeksafter peak to rampdown hiringNumber of hourstraining peak staffSource: A.T. Kearney’s 2013 Assessment of Excellence in Retail Operations (AERO) studyFigure 5Leaders are more aggressive in managing peak periodsOthersLeaders442197

8.
8Retail Success Still Depends on Core PrinciplesUnleashing Field LeadershipTo drive store performance, retailers have always depended heavily on field managers. Yetthese crucial employees face ever-more-difficult challenges, and need more support to do theirjobs effectively. The AERO study finds that across the board—at the district and regional leveland above—managers are overseeing more stores. Implemented effectively, increasing spansof control can save the company money. But performance will suffer unless the additionalresponsibility is accompanied by a change in the type of work managers are asked to do.The AERO study shows that field managers are spending too much time on administration, andnot enough actually in the field (see figure 6). Indeed, field managers spend more time onadministration than on interacting with customers, coaching staff, and looking at the conditionof their stores—combined. Yet, it is these field-based activities that create value. Retailers mustseek to reduce their managers’ administrative burden.Although the average store manager’s administrative burden is likely not so obviously skewed,even these managers would benefit their companies by coaching staff or interacting with custom-ers. They too would benefit from better tools and processes to help them perform their adminis-trative duties more quickly and efficiently. For example, one-third of store managers do laborscheduling without guidelines from headquarters—and they use many different practices, fromExcel spreadsheets to custom applications to pen and paper. The different practices can lead toerrors and inefficiency that better guidelines and support from headquarters could easily reduce.One valuable form of support is training. AERO results show that the leading firms give fieldmanagers training in financial and human resources (HR) skills almost 90 percent of the time—but for the followers, those numbers are just 43 percent for financial and 67 percent for HR.More training means better decision making. It also means that managers higher up the ladderare better able to delegate, because they can trust their sub-managers to accomplish thesetasks successfully.CustomerinteractionSource: A.T. Kearney’s 2013 Assessment of Excellence in Retail Operations (AERO) studyFigure 6Field managers have little time to interact with customersStore managersField managers34% 4%18% 38%19% 20%11% 7%AdministrationCoachingdirect reportsMerchandisingcomplianceWhat percent of time do you spend on each activity?

9.
9Retail Success Still Depends on Core PrinciplesDon’t Leave the Front Line BehindThe front-line staff interacts with customers all day long—gaining valuable insights into customerneeds along the way. For example, when customers want products that a store doesn’t carry,that data will not easily show up in many metrics, but the employees they spoke to will know.However, few retailers take full advantage of these insights.Front-line staff has always been closest to the customer, and that hasn’t changed. Successfulretailers have always been, and remain, those that best take advantage of these staffers’ insights.This issue perhaps best encapsulates the irony we discussed in the introduction: that with themyriad new developments and challenges today, fundamental principles can get lost. Theproblem today is a lack of formal requirements or processes to gather these employee insights.Simply hoping that employees will tell their supervisors (who will tell their supervisors, who willtell theirs, and so on) isn’t enough. Zara and Best Buy are rightly lauded for creating formalpipelines that capture and use employee insights.Encouraging new employee behaviorsrequires new incentives, based on newmetrics. In short, as strategies change,metrics must change with them.Employee satisfaction surveys are also underutilized. Happy employees make for happycustomers, but employee metrics are not well represented on standard performance measures(see figure 7). A “balanced scorecard” should truly balance all dimensions of performance, butmany scorecards overemphasize financials at the expense of indirect measures such asemployee satisfaction that can also impact future financial results.Source: A.T. Kearney’s 2013 Assessment of Excellence in Retail Operations (AERO) studyFigure 7Employee and operational dimensions underweighted in measuring performanceMost importantVery importantImportant61%31%23%4%CustomersFinancialsEmployeesOperationsHow important are these dimensions in performance reviews?(% of respondents)

11.
11Retail Success Still Depends on Core PrinciplesEnable with TechnologyMany retailers are buying technology as an answer to their problems. The leaders stand out,however, because they also know the question. They obtain technology with a clear view ofwhat they hope to accomplish.Customer-facing technology is a hot topic, and many retailers plan to invest more in it (seefigure 10). In part, these heavy levels of investment reflect the fact that deployment of customer-facing technology is limited. Still, few retailers are convinced of the effectiveness of thesetechnologies. For nearly all of the technologies listed in figure 10 (other than self-serve orderterminals), fewer than 20 percent of retailers rate any of them as highly effective. It’s a bitpuzzling that companies would invest in technologies that they have not yet seen to be effective.We believe the issue is that these retailers don’t understand their effectiveness because theydon’t know how to measure the success of these tools. Devoting more attention to the goalsthey hope to accomplish with the tools will lead to ways to measure their effectiveness inachieving those goals.For example, a retailer hoping to gather more meaningful customer insights might identify alack of technology as a barrier to that goal, and thus invest to achieve it. Which technologies willeffectively analyze, for example, loyalty data? How will you know when these tools are working?Asking these questions helps target the best technology investments, whether the goal iscustomer insights, channel integration, or operations efficiency.To date, operational efficiency technologies have demonstrated clearer benefits than customer-facing technologies. Tools such as handheld scanners for inventory management, laborSource: A.T. Kearney’s 2013 Assessment of Excellence in Retail Operations (AERO) studyFigure 10Mobile commerce tools and self-serve terminals lead customer technology trendsWhich customer-facing technologies do you expect to invest more in?(% of respondents)Self-serveterminals95%91% 89% 87%77%70%58%26%MobileappsQR-code-enabledinformationMobilepoint-of-saleDigitalmarketingdisplaysDigitalpricedisplaysSmartcartsFreeWi-FiModerate increaseSignificant increase

12.
12Retail Success Still Depends on Core Principlesscheduling applications, customer traffic flow technology, tablets or similar devices, andtime-attendance solutions all have higher levels of adoption and higher effectiveness ratings.AERO respondents expect to increase their use of tablets, in particular, for purposes rangingfrom POS solutions to product displays.The More Things Change…Fifty years ago, some of today’s retail technologies would have been inconceivable. To thinkthat most homes would have a computer through which you could search for, examine, andpurchase items without ever having to go to the store… and yet similar alternatives actually didexist. Substitute the word “catalog” for “computer” could show that, to borrow USA Today’swords, “where one shops [has been] irrelevant” for decades. And yet over all of these years,shoppers have preferred the in-person store experience.We can’t predict what technologies will be available in 50 years—or even five years. As optionsproliferate, bricks-and-mortar stores may indeed play a smaller role. But at heart, retail is a peoplebusiness, with traditional principles that center on maximizing the value of human interactions.As always, retailers should seek to improve analytics to drive better performance, support fieldleaders to reduce their administrative burdens, highlight the value of their front-line staff, andachieve meaningful goals. Despite the latest inventions—or even because of them—the funda-mental principles represent the soundest road to success.AuthorsJoel Alden, partner, Torontojoel.alden@atkearney.comAdam Pressman, principal, Chicagoadam.pressman@atkearney.comCaitlin MacNamara, consultant, Torontocaitlin.macnamara@atkearney.comDean Hillier, partner, Torontodean.hillier@atkearney.comMegan Geelhoed, consultant, Chicagomegan.geelhoed@atkearney.com